44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

RELATING TO DENTISTRY; CHANGING THE LICENSING OF DENTAL HYGIENISTS BY CREDENTIAL; EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF PRACTICE OF DENTAL HYGIENISTS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 61-5A-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994, Chapter 55, Section 3) is amended to read:

"61-5A-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Dental Health Care Act:

A. "board" means the New Mexico board of dental health care;

B. "certified dental assistant" means an individual certified by the dental assistant national board;

C. "committee" means the New Mexico dental hygienists committee;

D. "dental assistant certified in expanded functions" means a dental assistant who meets specific qualifications set forth by rule of the board;

E. "dental hygienist" means an individual who has graduated and received a diploma from an accredited dental hygiene educational program, which provides a minimum of two academic years of dental hygiene curriculum and is an institution of higher education accredited by the American dental association commission on dental accreditation, and, except as the context otherwise requires, who holds a license to practice dental hygiene in New Mexico;

F. "dental laboratory" means any place where bridges, crowns, dentures or other prosthetic or orthodontic appliances are fabricated, altered or repaired by one or more persons;

G. "dental technician" means an individual, other than a licensed dentist, who fabricates, alters, repairs or assists in the fabrication, alteration or repair of bridges, crowns, dentures or other prosthetic or orthodontic appliances;

H. "dentist" means an individual who has graduated and received a diploma from a dental college or school of dentistry of a university that is accredited by the American dental association commission on dental accreditation and, except as the context otherwise requires, who holds a license to practice dentistry in New Mexico;

I. "general supervision" means the authorization by a dentist of the procedures to be used by a [dental hygienist] dental assistant or dental student and the execution of the procedures in accordance with a dentist's diagnosis and treatment plan and in facilities as designated by rule of the board; and

J. "indirect supervision" means that a dentist is present in the treatment facility while authorized treatments are being performed by a [dental hygienist] dental assistant or dental student."

Section 2. Section 61-5A-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994, Chapter 55, Section 4) is amended to read:

"61-5A-4. SCOPE OF PRACTICE.--

A. As used in the Dental Health Care Act, "practice of dentistry" means:

(1) the diagnosis, treatment, correction, change, relief, prevention, prescription of remedy, surgical operation and adjunctive treatment for any disease, pain, deformity, deficiency, injury, defect, lesion or physical condition involving both the functional and aesthetic aspects of the teeth, gingivae, jaws and adjacent hard and soft tissue of the oral and maxillofacial regions, including the prescription or administration of any drug, medicine, biologic, apparatus, brace, anesthetic or other therapeutic or diagnostic substance or technique by an individual or his agent or employee gratuitously or for any fee, reward, emolument or any other form of compensation whether direct or indirect;

(2) representation of an ability or willingness to do any act mentioned in Paragraph (1) of this subsection; or

(3) with specific reference to the teeth, gingivae, jaws or adjacent hard or soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region in living persons, to propose, agree or attempt to do or make an examination or give an estimate of cost with intent to, or undertaking to:

(a) perform a physical evaluation of a patient in an office or in a hospital, clinic or other medical or dental facility prior to, incident to and appropriate to the performance of any dental services or oral or maxillofacial surgery;

(b) perform surgery, an extraction or any other operation or to administer an anesthetic in connection therewith;

(c) diagnose or treat any condition, disease, pain, deformity, deficiency, injury, lesion or other physical condition;

(d) correct a malposition;

(e) treat a fracture;

(f) remove calcareous deposits;

(g) replace missing anatomy with an artificial substitute;

(h) construct, make, furnish, supply, reproduce, alter or repair an artificial substitute or restorative or corrective appliance or place an artificial substitute or restorative or corrective appliance in the mouth or attempt to adjust it;

(i) give interpretations or readings of dental roentgenograms; or

(j) do any other remedial, corrective or restorative work.

B. As used in the Dental Health Care Act, "practice as a dental hygienist" means the science of the prevention and treatment of oral disease through the provision of educational, assessment, preventive, clinical and other therapeutic services [under the general supervision of a dentist]. "Dental hygiene" includes:

(1) prophylaxis, which is the treatment of human teeth by removing from their surface calcareous deposits and stain, removing accumulated accretions and polishing the surfaces of the teeth;

(2) removing diseased crevicular tissue;

(3) the application of pit and fissure sealants, fluorides and other topical therapeutic and preventive agents;

(4) exposing and referring to oral radiographs;

(5) screening to identify indications of oral abnormalities;

(6) preliminary assessment of periodontal conditions; and

(7) such other closely related services as permitted by the rules and regulations of the committee and the board.

C. In addition to performing dental hygiene as defined in Subsection B of this section, dental hygienists who have met such criteria as the committee shall establish and the board ratify may administer local anesthesia [under indirect supervision of a dentist]."

Section 3. Section 61-5A-13 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994, Chapter 55, Section 13) is amended to read:

"61-5A-13. DENTAL HYGIENIST LICENSURE.--

A. Applicants for licensure [must] shall have graduated and received a diploma from an accredited dental hygiene educational program that provides a minimum of two academic years of dental hygiene curriculum and is a post-secondary educational institution accredited by the American dental association commission on dental accreditation and shall have passed the written portion of the dental hygiene examination administered by the joint commission on national dental examinations of the American dental association or, if this test is not available, [then] another written examination determined by the committee.

B. Applicants for licensure by examination shall be required, in addition to the [provisions of] requirements set forth in Subsection A of this section, to [also] pass a written examination covering the laws and [regulations] rules for practice in New Mexico. Each written examination shall be supplemented by a practical or clinical examination administered by the committee or its agents that reasonably tests the applicant's qualifications to practice as a dental hygienist. Upon an applicant [successfully] passing the written and clinical examinations, the board, upon recommendation of the committee, shall issue a license [for practicing] to practice as a dental hygienist.

C. The board, upon the committee's recommendation, shall issue a license to practice as a dental hygienist by credentials without examination, including practical or clinical examination, to an applicant who is a duly licensed dental hygienist by examination under the laws of another state or territory of the United States and whose licence is in good standing in that jurisdiction and if the applicant otherwise meets [the same] all other requirements [to sit for examination by the committee or its examining agents. The applicant must meet other qualifications as deemed necessary by regulations recommended by the committee and ratified by the board. These qualifications shall include] of the Dental Health Care Act, including payment of appropriate fees and passing an examination covering the laws and [regulations] rules pertaining to practice as a dental hygienist in New Mexico."